Felix Bressart
Known for Acting · 63 credits
- Born
- 1892-03-02
- Died
- 1949-03-17
- Place of birth
- Eydtkuhnen, East Prussia, Germany [now Chernyshevskoe, Russia]
- Also known as
- Феликс Брессарт
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen.
Felix Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia) and was already a very experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1928. He started off as a supporting actor, e.g. as the Bailiff in the box-office hit Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1930), but had soon established himself in leading roles of minor movies. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Jewish-born Bressart had to leave Germany and continued his career in German-speaking movies in Austria, where Jewish artists were still relatively safe. After no fewer than 30 films in eight years, he emigrated to the United States.
One of Bressart's former European colleagues was Joe Pasternak, now a successful Hollywood producer. Bressart's first American film was Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939), a vehicle for Universal Pictures' top attraction, Deanna Durbin. Pasternak also selected the reliable Bressart to perform in a screen test opposite Pasternak's newest discovery, Gloria Jean. The influential German community in Hollywood helped to establish Bressart in America, as his earliest American movies were directed by Ernst Lubitsch, Henry Koster, and Wilhelm Thiele (director of Die Drei von der Tankstelle).
Bressart scored a great success in Lubitsch's Ninotchka, produced at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM signed Bressart to a studio contract in 1939. Most of his MGM work consisted of featured roles in major films like Edison, the Man.
He combined his mildly inflected East European accent with a soft-spoken delivery to create kindly, friendly characters, as in Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be, in which he sensitively recites Shylock's famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech from The Merchant of Venice. Lubitsch also directed Bressart to similar effect in The Shop Around the Corner.
Known For
Movies (63)
The Shop Around the Corner
1940
as Pirovitch
Ninotchka
1939
as Comrade Buljanoff
To Be or Not to Be
1942
as Greenberg
Iceland
1942
as Papa Jonsdottir
Married Bachelor
1941
as Professor Milic
Kathleen
1941
as Mr. Schoner
Ziegfeld Girl
1941
as Mischa
Comrade X
1940
as Igor Yahupitz / Vanya
Portrait of Jennie
1948
as Pete
Above Suspicion
1943
as Mr. A. Werner
Crossroads
1942
as Dr. Andre Tessier
Song of Russia
1944
as Petrov
Blossoms in the Dust
1941
as Dr. Max Breslar
A Song Is Born
1948
as Professor Gerkikoff
Bridal Suite
1939
as Maxl
Comradeship
1931
as Café Doorman (uncredited)
Escape
1940
as Fritz Keller
Take One False Step
1949
as Professor Morris Avrum
Swanee River
1939
as Henry Kleber
Without Love
1945
as Prof. Ginza
The Seventh Cross
1944
as Poldi Schlamm
Edison, the Man
1940
as Michael Simon
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
1939
as Music Teacher
It All Came True
1940
as The Great Boldini
Third Finger, Left Hand
1940
as August "Gussie" Winkel
No More Love
1931
as Jean
Bitter Sweet
1940
as Max
Four and a Half Musketeers
1935
as Professor Volksmann
Don't Be a Sucker!
1943
as Anti-Nazi Teacher
The fight with the dragon or: The tragedy of the lodger
1930
Excursion into Life
1931
as Hirsekorn - Schauspieler und Chauffeur
The Thrill of Brazil
1946
as Ludwig Kriegspiel
The Three from the Filling Station
1930
as Gerichtsvollzieher
The Lucky Top Hat
1932
as Gottfried Jonathan Bankbeamter
I've Always Loved You
1946
as Frederick Hassman
Ball at the Savoy
1935
as Birowitsch
Blonde Fever
1944
as Johnny
Mr. and Mrs. North
1942
as Arthur Talbot
Three Days in the Guardhouse
1930
as Franz Nowotni
Greenwich Village
1944
as Hofer
Peter
1934
as Grandfather
Fanfare about love
1931
as Major Fröschen
C'était un musicien
1934
as Baron Vandernyff
Dangerous Partners
1945
as Professor Budlow
Three Hearts for Julia
1943
as Anton Ottoway
Liebe im Kuhstall
1928
as Der Gerichtsvollzieher
Her Sister's Secret
1946
as Pepe
There is a woman who will never forget you
1930
Ding Dong Williams
1946
as Hugo Meyerheld
The Tender Relatives
1930
as Onkel Emil
Old Song
1930
as Jacques
The Private Secretary
1931
as Bankdiener Hasel
True Jacob
1931
as Böcklein
The Office Manager
1931
as Joachim Reißnagel
Holzapfel Knows Everything
1932
as Johannes Georg Holzapfel
Visul lui Tanase
1932
as star
Everything for the Company
1935
as Philipp Sonndorfer
Terror of the Garrison
1931
as Musketier Kulicke
Salto in die Seligkeit
1934
as Kriegel, Geheimdetektiv
...und wer küßt mich?
1933
as Direktor Ritter
Wie d'Warret würkt
1933
as Mr. Schramek
Eine Freundin so goldig wie Du
1930
as Richard
Heut' ist der schönste Tag in meinem Leben
1936
as Max Kaspar
About Felix Bressart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Felix Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia) and was already a very experienced stage actor when he had his film debut in 1928. He started off as a supporting actor, e.g. as the Bailiff in the box-office hit Die Drei von der Tankstelle (1930), but had soon established himself in leading roles of minor movies. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, Jewish-born Br… With 63 credits spanning from 1928 to 1949, Felix Bressart has appeared in 63 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for Felix Bressart movies, Felix Bressart filmography, or the latest projects starring Felix Bressart can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Felix Bressart Movies
- The Shop Around the Corner (1940) — as Pirovitch
- Ninotchka (1939) — as Comrade Buljanoff
- To Be or Not to Be (1942) — as Greenberg
- Iceland (1942) — as Papa Jonsdottir
- Married Bachelor (1941) — as Professor Milic
Where to Watch Felix Bressart Films
Most Felix Bressart movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Felix Bressart, check our movies catalogue and browse page.